We
come now to a remarkable prophecy, spanning chapters 38 and 39. It is
God's message to Gog of Magog and his allies, who dwell far to the north
of the Promised Land and of Ezekiel's place of exile in Babylon but
will one day come down into the land of Israel with a vast invasion
force. Notice that Gog's invasion will occur "after many days...in the
latter years...in the latter days" (38:8, 16). So we are clearly dealing
with an end-time prophecy.
Before more specifically examining the time factor, let's look at the identities of the various peoples mentioned.
"Gog,
of the land of Magog," is called the "prince of Rosh, Meshech, and
Tubal" (verses 2-3; 39:1). He is allied with "Persia, Ethiopia, and
Libya" (verse 5)-or, as Ezekiel actually wrote, "Peras, Cush and Put"
(Living Bible)-as well as "Gomer and...the house of Togarmah" (verse 6).
Most
of these names can be found in the Table of Nations of Genesis 10,
which lists the families of humanity descended from Noah. Notice: "Now
this is the genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And
sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.... The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan...." (verses 1-2, 6 emphasis added).
Notice that Gog is not mentioned here. That may be because the name Magog
actually means "land of Gog"-so that perhaps the actual son of Japheth
was named Gog and the nation he founded became known as Magog. The name
Gog could in a later context designate anyone who was from the land of
Gog (i.e., from Magog).
The first-century Jewish historian
Josephus wrote: "Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites,
but who by the Greeks were called Scythians" (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, chap. 6, sec. 2). The name Scythians
denoted a wide array of peoples who ranged across the Russian Steppes
all the way into China. (The Western Scythians were heavily Israelite
and Germanic in nationality.)
One researcher writes of the
Eastern-ranging Scythians: "The Assyrians called them Mat Gugi (Ma-Gog)
which means 'the country of Gog'.... Let Milner, famous for his writings
on the Japhetic races, add further to our understanding: 'Magog, as a
geographical term used by Hebrews of old and Arabs today (Majaj),
denoted that vast stretch of country to the north of the Black Sea,
Caucasus, Caspian Sea, Hindu Kush, and Altai, known to the Greek
geographers as Skythia'....
"The term Mongol, sometimes written as Mongoul, appears to be directly derived from Magog. In India, for example, Mongol becomes Moghul and a large part of China was known as Mangi when Europeans first visited it. The Arabs called the Scythian tribes of Tartary Yajuj and Majuj which is Gog and Magog and the Great Wall of China as the 'wall of al Magog'....
"Where
is Magog located today? They migrated via southern Russia to their
current homeland, leaving behind such place-names as: Mogliev city,
Mogiolistan, Mugojar Mountains, Mogol-Tau Mountains. Among the people of
Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, central and much of northern and southern
China...and even some Japanese are also descended from Magog. Here are
the hundreds of millions of China today. No wonder the name of ancestor
Japhet means 'expansion,' implying a large or expanding race. Other
peoples descended from Magog [as well]" (Craig White, In Search of...The Origin of Nations, 2003, pp. 189-190, available at www.originofnations.org).Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names
states in its entry on Magog: "[English biblical commentator Bishop]
Lowth on this place says: 'The Mogul Tatars, a people of the Scythian
race, are still called so by the Arabian writers.... By Gog and Magog
may most probably be meant the Turks, who were originally natives of
Tartary, called Turcheston [Turkestan] by the eastern writers, and whose
language is derived from that of the Tartars'" (Alfred Jones, 1997).
Indeed,
the Turkish peoples of Central Asia may be included-and are, at the
very least, included in the broader alliance, as many of the Eastern
Turks appear to derive from Togarmah (see White, p. 198). The Western
Turks, as noted in the Bible Reading Program comments on Obadiah, appear
to derive from Edom. As also explained there, one such group that
appears to have migrated into Central Asia is the Edomite tribe of
Amalek (see also White, p. 65). Interestingly, Amalekite kings bore the
name Agag (Numbers 24:7; 1 Samuel 15:8) and we later see the
enemy in the book of Esther, Haman, referred to as an Agagite (3:1, 10;
8:3, 5; 9:24). Josephus refers to him as an Amalekite (Antiquities, Book 11, chap. 6, sec. 5). Agag is written in the Septuagint as Agog,
and there could conceivably be some relation to the name Gog-some, such
as Milner cited above, suggesting that Agog is a compound of A (number
1) and Gog (great or high), denoting the ruler (see White, p. 65).
Indeed, it is possible that the names Gog and Magog may be figurative labels on some level in Ezekiel 38-39. Gog
basically means "rooftop" and is also thought to mean mountain. As it
seems to indicate a peak or highest point, some have viewed it as
designating a supreme ruler-a despot or dictator. In that case, Gog of
Magog becomes "dictator of the dictatorship." That would certainly fit
the description given. Perhaps both the figurative and national meanings
are intended.
On the other peoples listed, a footnote to Ezekiel
38:2-3 in The Living Bible states: "The names of Gog's confederates
(Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Beth-togarmah) can be identified as Mushki,
Tabal, Gimaraya, Tegerama, peoples who lived in the mountainous area
southeast of the Black Sea and southwest of the Caspian." This would
place them in the region of eastern Turkey and Armenia, just south of
the Caucasus Mountains.The New Unger's Bible Dictionary
states in its entry on Tubal: "Tubal and Meschech, the Tabali and Mushki
of the Assyrian monuments, were the representatives of eastern Asia
Minor. Their territory originally extended far to the S[outh]. In the
time of [Assyrian emperors] Sargon and Sennacherib, the territory of the
Tabali adjoined Cilicia [in southeast Asia Minor], while the Mushki
inhabited the highlands to the E[ast] of them, where they were in
contact with the Hittites. In later days, however, Meshech had retreated
to the N[orth], and the classical geographers place the Tibereni and
the Mushki not far from the Black Sea." Thus we see a clear northward
progression.
Meshech evidently "migrated with Tubal up to the
Black Sea and into the Russian plains. Dr. Gesenius [the famous Hebrew
lexicographer] wrote in the nineteenth century that Meshech became the
Moschi.... They dwelt, he said, in the Moschian Mountains. The Moschian
Mountains were the connecting chain between the Caucasus and Anti Taurus
Mountains. The Scofield Reference Bible says that the
'reference to Meschech and Tubal (Moscow [the Russian capital] and
Tobolsk [in West Siberia]) is a very clear mark of identification....
Milner explains: '...The whole district within five hundred miles of
Moscow seems to be saturated with the name of Meschech.' He then
refers...to the following place names: Moscow; the Moskva River; the
Novo-Mosc-owsk on a tributary of the Dnieper; Mosch-Aisk near Borodino;
Mosch-ok between Moscow and Nijini Novogorod; Mosch-arki stood on a
tributary of the Volga River; Misch-etski stood between Moskow and the
Tula...Mesch-a, a branch of the Dwina River; Mesch-Tschowsk near Tula
[etc.]...." (White, pp. 178-179).
What about the name Rosh
in Ezekiel 38-39? This name is not found in the Table of Nations in
Genesis 10. Some translators prefer to view the word as the Hebrew word
for "head" or "chief" and link it with the word prince in the
verse as denoting "chief ruler" rather than as a tribal name. However,
other translators prefer Rosh as a name. Interestingly, the Mitanni
kingdom in eastern Asia Minor became known as the land of Rashu, "Rash
or Rosh meaning 'blond.' Also, nearby dwelt the Urartians [ancient
Armenians].... Their last great ruler was Rusa II who built great cities
and huge defences. He established the religious center and fortress of Rusai-urau-tur
or Rusa-patari which means 'the small city of Rusa'.... Herodotus wrote
that the Matienaians from the land of Rosh were with the peoples of
Tubal and Meschech; while Pliny wrote of the Matiani as moving into
southern Russia over the Caucasus" (White, p. 267; see also p. 268).
It
is commonly believed that the Varangian Rus, Vikings from Sweden, gave
their name to Russia. However, "while western scholars accept this as
the origin of the Rus, Soviet scholars contend that the Rus were Slavs
from the southern steppes.Both are probably correct.... There is no
evidence of a tribe from Scandinavia called Ros or Rus. But a tribe of
the Antes was known as the 'Ros' and later modified to 'Rus' which
resided along the river Ros, a tributary of the Dnieper in the southern
Ukraine, just north of the Black Sea" (White, pp. 268-269).
So
far, then, we have an alliance stretching from Russia and Turkestan in
Western Asia to Mongolia and China in the Far East. Are other eastern
peoples listed in Ezekiel 38-39?
Notice the listing of Gomer.
This name has caused a lot of confusion as the ancient people near
Armenia known as the Gimirrai or Cimmerians migrated around both sides
of the Black Sea into Europe-becoming the Celts. For this reason, many
equate Gomer with Europe. But the Gimirrai or Cimmerians who migrated
into Europe were actually the people known to the Assyrians as Bit Khumri, the
"house of Omri"-that is, the northern tribes of Israel (once ruled by
the dynasty of Omri), who were taken captive to northern Assyria.
The
actual people of Gomer (that is, of Japheth's son Gomer), migrated not
to Europe but in the exact opposite direction-to southeast Asia. "Gomer
gave rise to the Siamese [Thai], Burmese, Indonesians, Filipinos,
Vietnamese, Laotians and Cambodians who all have the same sub-racial
anthropological classifications.... The Cambodians' real name is the Khmer which is very likely derived from Gomer. Similarly, one of the regions of Burma is known as Khemarata. Also, Kamara was the original name of Sumatra.... We also find the area of Kemarat in Thailand and the Gimaras
island in the Philippines. Given the aforementioned, it is highly
likely that these place and ethnic names are ultimately traceable back
to Gomer. While it is impossible to prove, it is most likely and should
be included in our list of strong probabilities" (White, p. 194).
Consider
next the people of Gomer's son Togarmah, who appears, as noted earlier,
to be the progenitor of some of the peoples of eastern Turkestan. "The
name may be preserved in the E[ast] Cappadocian city of Til-garimmu,
listed in the Assyrian records" ("Togarmah," New Unger's Bible Dictionary). This location was in what is now central Turkey.
The Hittite name, given above in The Living Bible footnote, was Tegerama. The people of this region "lived on the border with Tabal. Other names for this people were Tegaram a Tilgarimma, Trochmi and Trogmades.
The Tegarma or Tegarama migrated from Cappadocia into Armenia.... From
there they moved into Turcoman territory (Turkistan) a possible
derivation of Tegarama. In Turkistan, among the tablelands of Pamir,
rose a great mount, Tagharma.... These were the Mongoloid peoples of the eastern division of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia" (White, p. 197).
An apocryphal Hebrew work known as the Book of Jasher,
though contradictory of Scripture in a number of regards, may
nevertheless contain some accurate historical traditions. It states that
"the children of Tugarma are ten families, and these are their names:
Buzar, Parzunac, Balgar, Elicanum, Ragbib, Tarki [another possible
origin of the name Turk], Bid, Zebuc, Ongal and Tilmaz; all these spread
and rested in the north and built themselves cities" (10:10).
"Among
the sign-posts indicating where Togarmah settled we find: Tagarchi in
eastern Turkestan; Tigranoama in eastern Turkey; Tagarma mountains in
eastern Turkestan; the city of Tagarma in western China; Taganrog,
Tigeretsk Mountain, Togur town, Turgai province and Turgins, a town in
Siberia; many Uighur peoples may be a derivative of Togarmah.
"Tradition
speaks in terms of a certain son of Japheth known as Tork [Togarmah or
Tarki?]. He in turn had a son Taunak Chan. He was in turn succeeded by
Jelza Khan, Dibbakui Khan, Kajuk Khan and Ilingeh (or Alanza) Khan.
Ilingeh Khan in turn had two sons: Tatar Khan-progenitor of the Tartars;
and Mongul Khan-progenitor of some of the Mongols or Moghuls" (White,
pp. 197-198).
If these people did indeed migrate to eastern
Turkestan and then up into Siberia and Mongolia, as appears likely, that
would certainly fit the biblical description of "the house of Togarmah from the far north" (Ezekiel 38:6).
The only ones left to identify in Gog's confederation are "Peras, Cush and Put" (Ezekiel 38:5, The Living Bible). Peras
is correctly translated in the NKJV and other versions as Persia.
Persia is modern-day Iran. The descendants of the ancient Persians may
still be found in their homeland of Iran. They can also be found, as
noted in the Bible Reading Program comments on Isaiah 21, in parts of
Eastern Europe and of India.
What then of Cush and Put? The NKJV and other translations usually render these as Ethiopia and Libya.
Cush and Put (or Phut) were, according to the Table of Nations in
Genesis 10, sons of Ham, father of many of the dark-skinned people of
the world. Cush, it is generally acknowledged, became Ethiopia and other
black peoples of East Africa. And the people of Put were indeed the
ancient Libyans, whose descendants may be found throughout black Africa
(see White, pp. 89-97).
Yet these two would seem to be the odd men
out in this prophecy, being African while all the rest of the
confederation is Eurasian. Indeed, the alliance thus far appears to
include all of Asia north and east of the Euphrates River except for
most of the people of the Indian subcontinent. However, when we better
understand the identity of Cush and Put, we can see that the people of
South Asia are not left out at all (and that the African branch of these
peoples are probably not intended by the prophecy).
Concerning
the identity of the people of India, 19th-century author George Faber
wrote: "Their military nobility is acknowledged to be of the same family
as the Sacas or Chasas, who maintain that their great common ancestor
was Cusha or Cush... But we read in a special manner of two lands of
Cush, the Asiatic and the African. These were by the Greeks called the
two Ethiopias...but by the Hindoos [Hindus], as by the sacred writers,
they are denominated the land of Cush within and the land of Cush
without" (The Origin of Pagan Idolatry, 1816, qtd. by White, p. 99).
In Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization,
author Martin Bernal writes: "The tradition of two Ethiopias is much
older than [the 5th-century-B.C. Greek historian] Herodotus. In the Odyssey
[of the Greek writer Homer], the Ethiopians are described as dwelling
'sundered in twain, the farthermost of men, some where Hyperion [the
sun] sets and some where he rises.' Thus, there were Black men,
Aithiopes...from Western Libya (Africa) to Eastern Mesopotamia" (qtd. by
White, pp. 100-101).
Those on the east of Mesopotamia evidently
migrated further east, giving their name to the Hindu Kush Mountains of
Afghanistan and Pakistan. "A few other tell-tale signs of the movement
eastwards of the sons of Cush include a land called Kushian, in modern
Pakistan. Just to the north of India also lay the land Kashgana. And in the south of India ran a river called Kishna.
All of these names are variously derivatives of 'Cush'" (White, p.
102). Thus, many of the dark-skinned people of the Indian subcontinent
are evidently Cushite.
Regarding the people of Put or Phut,
historian George Rawlinson wrote: "This term is obscure.... In most
{scriptures} Phut is joined with tribes which are distinctively African;
but in two of them (Ezek [27].10, and [38].5), the accompanying nations
seem to be Asiatic. The explanation of this may possibly be that, as
there were two Cushes, so there were two Phuts, one Asiatic, and the
other African" (qtd. by White, p. 97).
The eastern branch of Put
"may have migrated from the east Mediterranean region as this is where
anthropologists trace the northern Indians to. All one can say is that
large parts of India were known as Rajputna (modern Rajasthan
state). Rajputna was a group of princely states ruled over by a
warrior-caste called the Rajputs (meaning 'chief of Put' or 'chief over
Put'). In northern India, near Bhutan, we find the town called Panta,
later Patali-putra, the capital city of Maghada State. The Rajputs and
others drove the Dravidian Cushites into Central and Southern India.
Those Phutites which settled in Central India mixed with the Dravidians.
In the east some mixed with the Mongoloids" (White, pp. 97-98).
So
rather than present-day Ethiopia and Libya in Africa, it appears much
more likely that Ezekiel 38:5 is speaking of the people of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Consider then: the vast hordes
of India, China, Indonesia, Russia, Turkestan and more combined-an
unimaginable force and staggeringly formidable foe to be sure...
But no match at all for Almighty God.

When Will Gog's Forces Invade and Be Destroyed? (Ezekiel 38-39)

We
have already seen that Ezekiel 38-39 is a prophecy of the latter days
(38:8, 16). Yet where does it fit in the march of end-time events?
Some,
thinking the Israelites brought out of the nations and back to the
Promised Land in Ezekiel 38:8 is referring to the Jews who have returned
to the land during the past century, conclude that this prophecy
concerns an invasion of the modern Jewish state of Israel prior to
Christ's return. But this view simply does not fit the picture here. The
returned Israelites are described in this prophecy as dwelling in peace
and safety-in a "land of unwalled villages...without walls, and having
neither bars nor gates" (verse 11). While modern cities don't normally
have defensive walls, the image here is mainly a figurative one-of
living in complete peace, free from invasion or harm. And that certainly
does not describe the modern Israeli state. Israel today is
constantly under grave threat from hostile neighbors and from terrorists
within. In fact, the Israelis are currently building an actual wall or
security fence to protect them against Palestinian suicide bombers.
Neither
can the prophecy refer to, as some assume, the gathering of forces at
Armageddon referred to in Revelation 16 and their destruction in
Revelation 19. There is some parallel symbolism, as the sacrificial
feast of fallen troops given to birds and beasts is found in both
Ezekiel 39 and Revelation 19. However, similar imagery is also used of
the defeat of Egypt, as we will next read in Ezekiel 32:4-5. Moreover,
the people of Israel will by no means be dwelling safely as the
gathering at Armageddon occurs, with the forces of the European-centered
Beast power, end-time Babylon, still occupying the Holy Land. And
having just experienced the Great Tribulation, with the cataclysmic Day
of the Lord still ongoing, the Israelites will not yet be enriched with
"livestock and goods" (compare Ezekiel 38:12).
Considering these factors, the only time that fits what is described is the period after
the return of Jesus Christ. When He comes, He will defeat Israel's
enemies and gather those who are left of all Israel in the Promised
Land, where they will at last dwell in peace and safety under His rule.
As
that stage of Christ's reign will last 1,000 years (the Millennium),
during which time Satan the devil will be imprisoned (Revelation
20:1-6), the question now becomes: At what point following the
commencement of the Millennium will the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39
come to pass?
Some think it comes at the end, when there
definitely will be a march to battle by Gog and Magog. Revelation 20:7-9
states: "Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be
released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which
are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather
them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They
went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the
saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven
and devoured them." It is also claimed that because armaments such as
shields, bucklers, bows, arrows, javelins and spears will be able to be
burned for seven years (Ezekiel 39:9-10), this must indicate not modern
weaponry but wooden implements-fashioned by people at the end of the
Millennium who will be without military technology and hardware.
But
there are problems with this view. For one, Gog and Magog in Revelation
20 are said to be from the four corners of the earth and therefore
apparently represent people of all nationalities. In Ezekiel 38, it is
clear the forces are of specific ethnicities and associated with a
particular northern region.
Notice also what God says to Gog in
Ezekiel 38:17: "Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my
servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years
that I would bring you against them" (NIV). How then could Ezekiel 38 be
a postmillennial reference, as none of the prophets appear to have
mentioned this in any other prophecy (unless it was simply not
recorded)-the only reference being in the New Testament book of
Revelation?
(Granted, there do not seem to be any other references
to an invasion early in the Millennium either. Yet the destruction of
Gog's forces at that point in time may simply be part of the fulfillment
of God's general prophecies of calamitous judgment accompanying the
Messiah's coming. Indeed, if Gog is a leader of Edom, which seems
possible given that the western Turks may have blended to some degree
with those of the East and that Gog may be short for Agog or Agag, there
may be more specific prophecies regarding him-that is, those that
foretell Edom's great downfall at the time of Christ's return.)
A more serious objection to Gog's invasion in Ezekiel being postmillennial is that it evidently occurs soon
after the return of Israel to the Promised Land-not after they have
dwelt there for a thousand years. Notice Ezekiel 39:7: "So I will make
My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore."
Clearly, if the Israelites had been living under Christ's rule for a
thousand years at this point, this statement would not seem to make any
sense.
Notice also: "So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward"
(verse 22). Yet at the end of the Millennium, Israel will already have
been living under God's covenant for a thousand years, wherein "no more
shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying
'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know [Him], from the least of them
to the greatest of them" (Jeremiah 31:34). It thus seems to make more
sense to view verse 22 as applying to a time early in the Millennium.
(It's interesting that up to this point, many Israelites are still
confused about the identity and character of Jesus Christ and the
unlimited extent of His power. It appears that up to this time they have
not yet fully and reverently submitted to His rule.)
By the end of the Millennium, the gentiles too will know the Lord-indeed, they will know Him throughout most
of the Millennium, for of Christ's 1,000-year reign we are told that
"the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters
cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). And yet Ezekiel 38-39 presents the defeat
of Gog as resulting in the gentiles coming to know God. It appears,
then, that the defeat of Gog described in Ezekiel must come during the early part of the Millennium.
Further,
God says that in the wake of Gog's defeat "the Gentiles shall know that
the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity"
(39:23)-that is, this is the point at which the nations would come to
understand it. "Then," He continues, "they shall know that I am the Lord
their God, who sent [the Israelites] into captivity among the nations,
but also brought them back to their land...And I will not hide My face
from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of
Israel" (verses 28-29). Again, it seems obvious that this is describing
events that take place shortly after Christ's return.
Indeed, the
arrangement of Ezekiel's final chapters may have some bearing here. God
spoke of giving His Spirit to His people after the return of Christ in
Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 37 continues on that theme. Though it briefly
flashes forward to the period after the Millennium to show that even all
the Israelites who have died will ultimately receive the same
opportunity, the story flow then returns to the beginning of the
Millennium, when the nations of Israel and Judah are at last fused
together as one nation. Continuing with that flow, it would appear that
the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39 will come next in time order-followed
by that of chapters 40-48, concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem and
its temple and the reorganization of the Promised Land, events that will
also transpire early in the Millennium.
Of course, many of Gog's
forces will evidently be destroyed when Christ first returns. For
Revelation 16:14-16 says that "the kings...of the whole world" will
gather at Armageddon for the "battle of that great day of God Almighty."
Yet, understanding the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38-39 to come early in
the Millennium, it is evident that only part of Gog's army will be
present in the Holy Land to be destroyed at Christ's coming. It seems
likely that vast numbers will yet be stretched across Eurasia-apparently
what remains of the 200-million-man force described in Revelation 9.
Sometime after Christ smites the forces gathered against Him (which,
again, would necessarily include only part of Gog's forces), perhaps
even a few years later, the remainder of Gog's forces then
marches down for the onslaught described in Ezekiel. (This is consistent
with the fact that when Jesus returns, He will not bring the entire
world into instant compliance with His way. Rather, Isaiah 2:2-4 and
Zechariah 14:16-19 demonstrate that there will be a period of bringing the nations into line through both instruction and disciplinary measures.)
What
then of the seemingly archaic military equipment? Certainly ancient
weaponry has been used in other end-time passages to represent modern
war implements. Yet does the fact that these armaments are used as fuel
for fire for seven years mean none of them can be metal or modern? Many
guns and rifles, and most notably the AK-47 assault rifle so popular in
third world nations, have wooden stocks. Consider also that there are
many flammable elements to even jeeps, tanks and jet planes-not least of
which is their fuel. The fuel and reserve fuel for thousands upon
thousands of military vehicles is staggering to contemplate. Small
quantities of material can be used as a fire starter-and there would be
vast quantities available. Furthermore, consider all the
possessions of an enormous military force on the move-this one perhaps
two thirds as large as the current U.S. population. There would be an
unimaginable amount of burnable material for the few million Israelites
then living in the Promised Land. Also, perhaps new technology, whether
invented by man or given by God, could allow even metal to be converted
to usable energy.
Of course, it should also be mentioned that a
vast Eurasian army would have not only well-trained troops with
sophisticated equipment but also huge numbers of poorly outfitted
infantry and cavalry. Among hordes of Chinese peasantry and third-world
Muslim jihadis, it would not at all be surprising to find large numbers
of wooden spears, clubs, crossbows, wood-handled machetes and
sabers-even hoes and pitchforks.
So if it is describing a later
episode than Ezekiel 38-39, why does Revelation 20 mention Gog and
Magog? As already noted, these names seem to be used there in a
representative sense for a Satan-led force coming from all nations at
the end of the Millennium. It may be that the great invasion of Gog and
Magog that occurs near the beginning of the Millennium is being viewed
as a forerunner of the postmillennial invasion. The first was a
multinational force. The later will be as well-though encompassing even
more nations. It may even be that Gog and Magog will constitute the
largest portion of this final rebellious force. Some, it should be
noted, see numerical significance to the use of Gog and Magog in
Revelation, explaining that the words numerically add up to 70, a number
the Jews see as representative of all nations (as 70 nations are listed
in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10). Or given that Gog and Magog can
perhaps mean "dictator" and "dictatorship" respectively, perhaps that
is the parallel. In any case, the invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 does not
appear to be the invasion of Revelation 20, though there is apparently
some tie between them, if only a figurative one.
By the defeat of
Gog's forces, God says He will set His glory among the nations-they will
know His great power and majesty. The Israelites will come to know Him
as their personal Savior and Protector. And the gentiles will see that
as well-leading them, at last, to desire to become God's people too.